Tech/3 Walter Sikonowiz

     Writing feverish letters home while waiting for a rumored amphibious assault, on September 9, 1943, Sikonowiz and the 36th Division received their baptism of fire by landing near Paestum on Red Beach during the widespread invasion of Salerno, the first Allied landing on mainland Europe and the start of the war in Italy. Below is his account of that day:

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Landed at 3 P.M. on the invasion day. Waded through water knee-high from the LCS then walked on the beach and hopped onto a half-track with Lt. Murphy [and others, illegible] looking for the D’ W.P. area. A bullet whizzed low overhead and then we ducked low in the half-track. Finally, we reached the D’W.P. area and met Wortham and Beyliss. After waterproofing we took off alongside the old ruins along the side of the road running east away from the beach and ducked into the side of the road into a ditch. Sniping was going on, artillery firing over our heads to the enemy lines and from the enemy lines. It was a miserable sight that day. Later a barrage of anti-aircraft guns got the enemy planes along the beach of Salerno.

The company history states that they moved in 300 yards towards Paestum before having to dig in, setting up a command post in an Apple Orchard to start operations as far as possible away from the fighting while gathering supplies and equipment as it arrived. Luftwaffe bombing was constant but the company continued to move, from a tobacco barn near division headquarters onto Altavilla, where the entire division regrouped. Sikonowiz did not write anything for the next fifteen days as he and the division faced severe German counterattacks attempting to drive them back into the sea. Although he was meant for a logistics and support role, no doubt these days were spent on the frontline. He only returned to his diary to relate his ability to finally write letters home but otherwise was put into a busy routine performing his war-long tasks of fixing and maintaining the guns of the division. The fighting was slow-going up through the coast and the first major movement he records is to Pozzula, above Naples, on October 13. A few weeks later he wrote of receiving his Good Conduct Ribbon and a few days after that, getting his first leave, to Naples, where he and several friends enjoyed the food, drink, and sights of the city. While the division moved further inland the company found itself having to camouflage its vehicles for safety, putting up men for nightly guard duty, and moving through Mazanello northward as the rain and colder weather took over the area of operations. Now solidly into the Italian campaign, Sikonowiz once again began to pick up his camera, writing of an outing on November 26 into the hills outside of Nazanello where they found many bomb craters and even a German hand grenade which they “did not pick up.” 

     The day-to-day consisted of breakfast, working on whatever guns needed fixing, most often mortars, howitzers, or anti-tank guns, and occasional chores for the company with free time in the evening. Sikonowiz took an interest in his work, however, and rather than be bogged by the routine, proved rather creative. On November 30 he first designed and built a modified sliding bracket for an 81mm mortar, one of the common pieces used by the frontline infantry units. These brackets, the essential piece which moves and rotates the mortar as it is adjusted by the user, were known to wear quickly and lose their accuracy. Sikonowiz began developing a more robust version which was much less apt to damage, a design he worked on perfecting throughout the war, albeit starting during this period of the Italian campaign. 

     With the division engaged in heavy mountain fighting, late November and December found Sikonowiz working on a large number of 75mm pack howitzers, specialized lightweight guns intended for use in harsh terrain. Rain plagued the gunsmiths but nevertheless, the men worked tirelessly, even taking field trips to the frontline to check on their work. Sikonowiz went on his first of these trips in early December when he spent a few days inspecting guns of the 131st Field Artillery Battalion. The repairs done by the company were the only way many of the guns used by the division were able to stay in the field. A few examples of projects he worked on just in these few months alone were replacing the tube and recoil of a 105mm howitzer, changing out damaged gun carriages, fixing springs on balance wheels, repairing mortar legs, fixing recoil piston rods, crafting parts for guns from scratch, adjusting bore-sighting, and even replacing the howitzers for the M7 Priest self-propelled guns of the 141st Infantry’s Cannon Company. It was a busy campaign as artillery played a critical role in supporting the mountain operations of the division. Even with the stressful and constant work, the ordnance men found ways to keep themselves busy. Sikonowiz used a local cobbler to add custom buckles to his combat boots, got a new watch, and even got to meet Jack Rice, a famous war correspondent for the Associated Press, who took photos of him and some others working on 57mm anti-tank guns. One night a comrade dressed up as a woman, impersonating and legitimately convincing some of the home-sick troops that he was a true local. All this is to say, “lots of the boys got fooled” but it turned out to be “a great joke among the fellows.”

     On December 21 he once again found himself close to the action when he drove a ¾ ton truck to the 141st Infantry Regiment’s Service Company just past Venafro to check on the M7 Priests, a trip which included some light sniping towards the mechanics as they traveled along. Christmas, his first away from the United States, was spent drinking with his friends, listening to the radio, and decorating their occupied house with a Christmas tree and colored strips of paper. In his diary, he warmly wrote that “it almost seems like home.” On Christmas morning the company did receive a set of gifts, although it was a massive order of fresh rifles for the small arms section which Sikonowiz and his boys had to help de-cosmoline so that they could be sent to the infantry. The bright spot of the holiday was a Red Cross girl (a real one this time) who brought donuts to the men while they worked. She was a welcome sight, as well as the large turkey Christmas lunch they ate, and made the holiday seem a little more normal than it might otherwise have in the cold Italian hills. 

     The week after Christmas was spent driving around to various units of the division, including the 155th Field Artillery, with its massive 155mm guns, the 143rd Infantry Regiment, and the 141st Infantry Regiment where they inspected and performed quick repairs on howitzers, mortars, 57mm anti-tank guns, and even some T-30s (howitzer-mounted half-tracks used by the 143rd Infantry’s cannon company). January 9 found the ordnance company receiving its own weapons, to keep this time, a fresh batch of M1 Carbines which were used by the men throughout the rest of the war. 

     The 36th was involved in heavy combat near Monte Cassino throughout January, meaning the men had a steady stream of work. From the 26-28, however, the going was especially tough as the division fought its bloodiest battle at the Rapido River. While the infantrymen were taking massive casualties in a flawed and horrible attack forced by General Mark Clark, Sikonowiz traveled back and forth between the 132nd and 155th Field Artillery to check on the howitzers which had been firing around the clock to support the doomed assault. He described these inspections as “plenty hot” with numerous shells falling all around them. It was one of the more dangerous periods of Italy faced by Sikonowiz who usually found himself at the end of someone else’s gun only when it was dismounted and on his work bench. Interestingly, he notes that during this battle the 155th had even put to use a series of 75mm pack howitzers, half the size of their usual guns, which certainly were needed with the constant fire missions keeping them busy. 

     On February 4 Sikonowiz was officially awarded his first campaign star for his European Theater ribbon, representing the Napples-Foggia campaign and the many months of critical work he had performed to keep the division in fighting shape. Throughout February the company spent its days working in Mignano and San Angelo attempting to keep up with the infantry. The work was much the same as before the Rapido, repairing, inspecting, and maintaining the many types of field pieces that had seen so much action in such little time. Occasional German shelling and even an air raid plagued the mechanics. Nevertheless, the Allies always seemed to reciprocate the explosives with even greater numbers. Sikonowiz noted March 15, 1944, as one of the largest returns when “formation after formation” of heavy and medium American bombers flew overhead to drop thousands of tons of bombs in the Cassino sector. Little did he realize, but this was one of the largest raids in Italy and the largest that had happened thus far into the war. For all of the near-combat experiences of February and March, the end of the period was spent enjoying the division band playing at the Royal Italian Opera House, occasionally working on half-tracks and mortars, and briefly visiting Pompeii where he was able to view the volcano erupting. 

     April and May brought warmer weather as the ordnance company took part in a series of baseball games while turning in their winter overcoats. The division was in a reserve position near Avellino, giving Sikonowiz time to sew new corporal stripes and a T-Patch on his shirt while getting professional pictures taken in Salerno. The division held several inspections and formations, including one which saw division commander General Walker decorated with the Distinguished Service Cross. May 13 was an especially fun day as the division was entertained by none other than Marlene Dietrich, the former starlet of Germany whom Sikonowiz managed to get several pictures of with his own camera. Unfortunately, this period of rest was not to last, and on May 21 the division loaded up on LSTs for another change of scenery.